31 Jan, 2021
DeepGreen ups seabed mineral resource estimate amid expected nickel boom
Private Canadian group DeepGreen Metals Inc. reported higher grades of nickel, cobalt and manganese — metals that will be in demand during an expected boom in electric vehicles — in an updated mineral resource estimate for one of its deep-sea exploration areas in the Pacific Ocean. However, the company concedes it may never placate some environmental opponents in its drive to become a major ethical supplier of EV battery minerals.
DeepGreen released a technical report by Australian company AMC Consultants Pty. Ltd. on Jan. 27 revealing a measured mineral resource of 4 million tonnes, as well as indicated and inferred resource estimates of 341 Mt and 11 Mt, respectively, within its easternmost exploration block, NORI Area D, in the northeast Pacific Ocean's Clarion-Clipperton Zone, or CCZ.
The latest resource estimate is 5.4% higher in abundance than the 2018 estimate, with higher grades of nickel, cobalt and manganese at 6.1%, 5.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Nodule abundance is a measure of nodule mass, in kilograms, present in one square meter.
Area D, which covers 25,160 square kilometers, is one of four granted to DeepGreen subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc., or NORI, in 2011 by the International Seabed Authority.
 |
|
A box core brings up an intact sample of the seafloor containing |
AMC said the positive conversion rates are "exceptionally high compared to the typical outcomes from infill sampling of terrestrial mineral deposits."
DeepGreen Chief Development Officer Anthony O'Sullivan told S&P Global Market Intelligence the contract areas held by subsidiaries NORI and Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. host some 1.6 billion tonnes of nodules, containing around 16 Mt of contained nickel. O'Sullivan said the deposit could support an Ambatovy-like 60,000 tonnes-per-year nameplate project for more than 260 years.
Published research funded by the company in the last two years shows that, "developed responsibly, metals can be sourced from the CCZ with less environmental impact than current practice on land," O'Sullivan said. This is particularly important for materials such as nickel where there is increasing concern regarding ethically sourced metals and the level of development that will be required to meet projected supply, he added.
Tesla flagged in September 2020 that it plans to sell 20 million EVs in 2030, and Mining.com reported on Jan. 27 that for the carmaker to produce that many, it would need to build 23 mines like Sumitomo Corp.'s giant Ambatovy mine in Madagascar, at US$8.5 billion each, to supply all the nickel required.
Urgent need, firm opposition
O'Sullivan said the "heightened concern" raised in such reports means that "now, more than ever, we need to arrive at a shared understanding of our current predicament, leave our ideologies at the door, sink our teeth into the comparative scientific data and learn how to make difficult decisions under high levels of uncertainty."
Yet "those opposing this industry will not be placated and in all truth are unlikely to be placated for any resource development project," he said.
"Given the [environmental, social and governance] impacts of the last 150 years, this is understandable but unhelpful," O'Sullivan said, and "we always see that there is work to do to build the case" for the resource in the face of those who oppose the project on grounds of irreparable environmental damage.
According to DeepGreen, since polymetallic nodules contain high grades of nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese, far less ore is needed to get the same amount of metal compared to terrestrial ores, resulting in smaller environmental footprints and production costs. Additionally, deep-sea nodules' lack of toxic levels of heavy elements such as mercury or arsenic also means all of the nodule mass can be converted into economically valuable products. This could potentially eliminate the solid waste and toxic tailings plaguing the conventional mining industry, which generated over 189 gigatonnes of waste in 2020.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific spokesperson Nelli Stevenson told Market Intelligence that DeepGreen's justification of providing essential metals for green technologies like EVs is merely "pouring good money after bad."
"Disrupting extremely important carbon sinks in the deep sea would only exacerbate the climate crisis we are currently in," she said, adding that the mining industry's focus is "not based on environmental impact, but on how it can continue extracting mineral resources and turning a profit in doing so. Anything beyond that is spin."
"Considering the limits imposed by the finite nature of mineral resources, our position is that the fundamental issues of overconsumption and extremely inefficient resource use should be addressed rather than kicking the can from one destructive mining project to another," Stevenson said.
While renewable energy-powered EVs are needed to tackle the transport sector's "enormous" environmental impacts, Stevenson advocated for "more accessible public and collective transport like carshare initiatives, and better infrastructure for active transport like walking and cycling."
"Simply replacing one mass-produced, privately owned product for another is not going to solve the climate crisis," she said.